Location-based services

ABSTRACT

In some embodiments, a technique for providing location-based functionality comprises providing functionality, wherein the functionality uses information provided by a location-aware device.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/878,933, filed Sep. 9, 2010; which is a Continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/938,198, filed Sep. 9, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No.7,818,317, issued Oct. 19, 2010; which claims benefit of priority toU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/501,691, filed Sep. 9, 2003;all of the aforementioned priority applications are incorporated byreference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the areas of computersoftware and portable electronics, more specifically to the area oflocation-aware devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Technology for determining location has become small and inexpensive,facilitating the creation of location-aware devices. However, currentlocation-aware devices provide limited functions.

It would be useful to have increased functionality for location-awaredevices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the followingdetailed description and the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an illustrative diagram of a system for performinglocation-based services according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method for obtaining location informationfrom one or more location-aware peer devices according to someembodiments.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method for automatically adding tasks to atask list according to some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method for associating a task with one ormore locations at which a task may be completed according to someembodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method for displaying locations at whichtasks may be performed according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is an illustrative diagram of a user interface for displayingcompletion locations for a task according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a method for automatically deriving taskcompletion locations according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a method for assigning a task to a taskrecipient according to some embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a method for receiving and presentinglocation-based guidance for task fulfillment according to someembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as aprocess, an apparatus, a system, a composition of matter, a computerreadable medium such as a computer readable storage medium or a computernetwork wherein program instructions are sent over optical or electroniccommunication links. In this specification, these implementations, orany other form that the invention may take, may be referred to astechniques. In general, the order of the steps of disclosed processesmay be altered within the scope of the invention.

A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the invention isprovided below along with accompanying figures that illustrate theprinciples of the invention. The invention is described in connectionwith such embodiments, but the invention is not limited to anyembodiment. The scope of the invention is limited only by the claims andthe invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications andequivalents. Numerous specific details are set forth in the followingdescription in order to provide a thorough understanding of theinvention. These details are provided for the purpose of example and theinvention may be practiced according to the claims without some or allof these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technicalmaterial that is known in the technical fields related to the inventionhas not been described in detail so that the invention is notunnecessarily obscured.

FIG. 1 is an illustrative diagram of a system for performinglocation-based services according to some embodiments. In this example,hardware capable of sensing a location or receiving location information101 may be connected to a processor capable of executing instructions toperform location-based services 102. Examples of hardware capable ofsensing a location include a GPS receiver, and one or moreaccelerometers or gyroscopes. An example of hardware capable ofreceiving location information is an interface capable of connecting toa network over which location information may be transmitted, forexample a wireless network such as 802.11, GPRS or Bluetooth.

A data store 103 is shown to be connected to the processor 102. A datastore may be any medium capable of storing data, for example read-onlymemory, magnetic or optical storage, non-volatile electronic memory suchas flash memory, or battery-powered electronic memory such as DRAM.

Programmatic instructions for performing location-based services 104 maybe made available to the processor 102. Examples of media in whichprogrammatic instructions for performing location-based services may becontained include read-only memory, magnetic or optical storage, andrandom-access memory such as DRAM or flash memory.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method for obtaining location informationfrom one or more location-aware peer devices according to someembodiments. A “location-aware device” or “LAD” refers herein to anydevice that can be aware of its location, either directly or indirectly.Examples of LADs include a personal digital assistant which has thecapability to communicate with Global Positioning System (GPS)satellites (for example, an HP iPaq 5555 with a Pharos PF022 card, aHandspring Visor with a Magellan GPS Companion module, or a Garmin iQue3600), an automotive navigation unit such as a Siemens IDIS or TetraStar(as used in BMW and Mercedes automobiles), and a cellular telephonecapable of receiving location information. Examples of ways in which aLAD can be made aware of its location include satellite-based servicessuch as GPS, accelerometers, gyroscopes, local transmissions from fixedor mobile locations, manual input by a user, and receiving locationinformation from another LAD. In some embodiments, a LAD may makelocation information programmatically available to software running onit, for example via the National Marine Electronics Association standardNMEA-0183.

In this example, location information may be requested (201). Forexample, a request may be transmitted (for example using a broadcast)over a communications network such as a wireless network. Examples ofwireless networks include 802.11 and Bluetooth. In some embodiments, arequest may be implicit. One example of an implicit request is notmaking a request. Another example of an implicit request is anothercommunication, for example a broadcast indicating the presence of adevice, which may be taken as an implicit request for locationinformation. One or more location reports may be received from locallocation-aware devices (202). A location report refers herein to acommunication containing a location of the device sending the report,for example in latitude and longitude. In some embodiments, a reportingdevice may have measured its own location, for example usinglocation-sensing hardware such as a GPS receiver. In some embodiments, areporting device may have determined its location from location reportsreceived from other entities. In some embodiments, a device providing areport may be a peer of a requesting device, for example a mobile devicesuch as a PDA, cellular phone or automotive navigational system. Anexample of receiving one or more location reports is to receive themover a network medium through which a request was transmitted, forexample a wireless network such as Bluetooth or 802.11, or using a modeof transmission specified in a request.

It may be determined whether a location report has been received (203).If a location report has not been received (203), then other techniquesare used in this example (204). Examples of other techniques includeinvalidating any location awareness until a location can be ascertained,using the last known location, and extrapolating from the last knownlocation.

If a location report has been received (203), then one or morepotentially erroneous location reports are optionally disregarded insome embodiments (205). An example of disregarding a location report isto not include the location report in a location calculation. An exampleof disregarding potentially erroneous location reports is to disregardreports containing locations that are substantially different thanaverage. In one example of disregarding locations substantiallydifferent than average, one or more location reports that contain alocation more than a threshold distance from the average reportedlocation, for example a hundred meters, may be disregarded. In someembodiments, one or more location reports containing locations more thana threshold distance from the average reported location may bedisregarded when at least a threshold number of reports, for exampletwo, are received containing distances within the threshold distancefrom the average. In another example of disregarding locationssubstantially different than average, one or more reports that arefurthest from the average may be disregarded based on a fixed orvariable ratio, such as ignoring the 10% of reports furthest from theaverage location, or any report varying from the average by more than10%. In another example of disregarding locations substantiallydifferent than average, one or more reports that are furthest from theaverage may be disregarded based on a statistical measure such asdisregarding any locations greater than some threshold number ofstandard deviations (for example two) from average. In some embodiments,location(s) substantially different than average may be disregarded whenmore than a threshold number of location reports have been received, forexample three. In some embodiments, disregarding locations substantiallydifferent than average may be required to eliminate at least apredetermined number of reports, for example one. In some embodiments,one or more X and/or Y coordinates within location reports may beseparately disregarded, for example an X or Y coordinate substantiallydifferent than average. Any technique discussed above for disregardingreports substantially different than average may be applied separatelyto X and Y coordinates.

Location reports may be combined to estimate the current location (206).One example of combining location reports is to average location reportsreceived from location-aware devices. In some embodiments, averagingreports may include calculating an arithmetic mean. In some embodiments,averaging reports may include calculating a median. In some embodiments,averaging reports may include calculating a mode. In some embodiments,an average may be weighted by the observed signal strength from eachreporting device. Another example of combining location reports is touse both a received location report and the direction from which thelocation report signal arrived. A direction from which a location reportsignal originates may, for example, be obtained from a Doppler directionfinder, or from an effectively rotating directional beacon transmissionsuch as is used on aircraft VOR navigational systems, which establishesa radial direction from a transmitter to a receiver. In someembodiments, directions from sources of location reports may be used totriangulate. In one example of triangulation, if radial directions arereceived from two transmitters, with one transmitter due east and theother due north, then a current location is derived in this example atthe latitude of the due east transmitter, and the longitude of the duenorth transmitter. In another example of triangulation, if radialdirections are received from two transmitters of location reports, andthe radial directions are not collinear with a receiver, then a uniquelocation for the receiver may be derived using trigonometric methodswell known to those skilled in the art. In another example oftriangulation, radial directions to three or more transmitters may beacquired, and a receiver location may be estimated when all the radialsdo not align at a single point In some embodiments, a least squareserror estimate of the receiver's position may be derived based ontriangulation relative to three or more radials to known or specifiedlocations. In this example, an error metric in an estimate may forexample be defined to be the sum of the squares of the distances fromthe receiver's estimated location to the radial lines.

In some embodiments, X and Y coordinates, such as a latitude andlongitude, may be calculated separately from locations reported bylocally accessible LADs. In one example of separately calculating X andY coordinates, average X and Y coordinates may be calculated from the Xand Y coordinates contained within location reports.

In some embodiments, a previous location, such as the last knownlocation, may be taken into consideration when evaluating a location ina location report, for example by disregarding reports that are far fromthe last known location. For example, a new location reading may beanalyzed to calculate the distance (for example, the number of miles ordegrees) between it and a previous location. If this distance is greaterthan a threshold, then the location in the location report may bedisregarded. In some embodiments, the threshold may be a constant, forexample 600 miles. In some embodiments, the amount of time since theprevious location was calculated may be taken into account indetermining a threshold, for example by multiplying a constant thresholdsuch as 600 miles by the amount of time (for example the number ofhours) since the previous location was calculated. In some embodiments,a combination of elapsed time and a distance threshold may be expressedas a speed threshold, for example 600 miles per hour in the exampleabove. In some embodiments, a time threshold may be combined with adistance threshold, including a combination of elapsed time and distancethreshold, for example by applying the distance threshold only forlocation reports received less than a threshold period of time, such asfive hours, since the last location report. In some embodiments, whenmultiple consistent location reports beyond a threshold are received,the location may be accepted.

When one or more location reports have been combined and/or disregarded(205), the location is updated in this example (206).

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method for automatically adding tasks to atask list according to some embodiments. In this example, atask-generating event may occur (301). An example of a task-generatingevent is a depletion detection, for example a car running low on gas,which could for example be detected by a monitor associated with thecar's gas tank. Another example of a task-generating event is thedetection of a mechanical failure, for example the failure of anautomobile or appliance. Task information may be generated (302). Anexample of generating task information is to generate task dataspecifying an item to be purchased, such as gasoline, and optionally atime to purchase it, for example immediately or as soon as possible.

It is determined whether a task-capable device is available (303). Atask-capable device refers herein to a device capable of accepting ageneral-purpose task and prompting some action on it, for example acomputer or PDA running software that tracks and organizes tasks a usershould perform. An example of determining whether a task-capable deviceis available is to attempt to contact a task-capable device over anetwork such as a wireless network, for example 802.11 or Bluetooth. Insome embodiments, an attempt to contact a device may include an attemptto contact a particular device, for example a device that has beenconfigured to accept tasks from the task generator. In some embodiments,an attempt to contact a device may include a broadcast message torequest an available task-capable device to identify itself. If there isno task-capable device present, the presence of a task-capable device isawaited in this example (303), for example by waiting for notificationfrom a device or by delaying and re-attempting contact.

If a task-capable device is available (303), then task information istransmitted to a task-capable device (304). An example of transmittingtask information to a task-capable device is to transmit taskinformation over a network, for example a wireless network such as802.11 or Bluetooth.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method for associating a task with one ormore locations at which a task may be completed according to someembodiments. In this example, a task is created (401). An example ofcreating a task is for a user to enter a task. Another example ofcreating a task is to receive a task from another device, for examplethrough a synchronization operation or an automatic task generation suchas described in conjunction with FIG. 3.

One or more completion locations at which the task could potentially becompleted are determined (402). One example of determining a completionlocation is for a user to enter a location explicitly. One example ofentering a location explicitly is to enter an address associated withthe task, such as “3456 Main Street.” Another example of entering alocation explicitly is to enter the name of a place, such as a businessname (for example, “Safeway”), at which the task may be completed. Inthis example, the name may be looked up in a business directory todetermine one or more completion locations. Another example ofdetermining a completion location is for a user to enter a category oflocation, such as “hardware store” or “grocery store,” at which the taskmay be completed. In this example, the category may be looked up in abusiness directory such as an electronic yellow pages to determine oneor more completion locations.

Another example of determining a completion location is to analyze atask to determine one or more completion locations. In some embodiments,a reference a to a completion location within a task description may bedetected, for example by substring matching against one or morepredetermined completion location descriptions. For example, the taskentry “hardware store: hammer, nails” could be determined to be areference to a category of “hardware store,” which could then be lookedup in a business directory such as an electronic yellow pages todetermine one or more completion locations. In some embodiments, thecontent of tasks may be analyzed (for example, by a Bayesian textclassifier) and one or more appropriate completion locations may bederived from the analysis. For example, a task entry such as “spinach,salmon, milk” could be classified as a grocery list. This could beassociated with the category “grocery store,” which could be looked upin a business directory such as an electronic yellow pages to determineone or more completion locations.

Another example of determining a completion location is to compare atask with one or more previously completed tasks to derive a completionlocation from a previous completion location for a similar previoustask. A previous completion location for a similar previous task may,for example, have been derived as discussed in conjunction with FIG. 7.One example of determining whether a task is similar to a previous taskis to determine whether the task descriptions are substantiallyidentical. Another example of determining whether a task is similar to aprevious task is to perform lexical entropy analysis, in which two taskdescriptions are considered “similar” if their population of“high-information” words (for example, words representing less than 0.5%of word instances in a corpus such as all task descriptions, plusoptionally certain key words always classified as “high-information” bythe software), are substantially identical. Another example ofdetermining whether a task is similar to a previous task is to classifytasks using a classifier such as a Bayesian classifier. An example ofdetermining whether a task is similar to a previous task using aclassifier is to use completion locations as classifications (i.e.categories) and use a text classifier such as a Bayesian classifier ontask descriptions, using task descriptions and the locations at whichthey were performed as training data. In this example, a taskdescription can then be implicitly classified as similar to othersassigned to the same completion location, or a completion location inthe same category, if a probability metric associated with itsclassification is greater than a threshold. An example of deriving acompletion location from one or more previous completion locations forsimilar previous tasks is to use the previous completion location(s) forthe completion location(s). Another example of deriving a completionlocation from one or more previous completion locations is to determinea category in which the previous completion location(s) fit, for example“hardware store,” and looking up one or more completion locations basedon the category.

If a completion location has not been found, or any completion locationsthat have been found have low probabilities associated with them, forexample because a match was poor with a previous completion location(403), then no completion location is assigned in this example (404). Insome embodiments, a user may be prompted to enter a completion location.If a completion location has been found (403), then the completionlocation(s) are associated with the task information in this example(405). An example of associating one or more completion locations withtask information is to include the completion location(s) in a recordassociated with the task, for example a database record or part of afile.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method for displaying locations at whichtasks may be performed according to some embodiments. In this example,location-based tasks are to be checked (501). An example of a reasonthat location-based tasks may be checked is because a LAD has beenturned on. Another example of a reason that location-based tasks may bechecked is because a user has selected a view of a task list. Anotherexample of a reason that location-based tasks may be checked is that aLAD has moved to a new location. Another example of a reason thatlocation-based tasks may be checked is that a predetermined period oftime, such as one minute, has elapsed since the last time location-basedtasks were checked.

A task list may be retrieved (502). In some embodiments, a task list maybe kept explicitly. In some embodiments, a task list may be derived fromother data, for example an unstructured to-do list, or calendaring data.If there are no more tasks to process in the list (503), then locationdisplay is complete in this example (504). In some embodiments, one ormore completion locations for tasks that have been determined to bedisplayable, for example completion locations contained on a list ofdisplayable tasks, may be displayed. An example of displaying acompletion location is to display it on a map. In some embodiments,information about one or more tasks that have been determined to bedisplayable, for example tasks contained on a list of displayable tasks,may be displayed. An example of displaying task information is todisplay a task and optional associated location, for example when a userviews a task list. In some embodiments, tasks and/or task completionlocations may be displayed as text or audio (for example acharacteristic tone, or synthesized speech). In some embodiments, anindication may be provided that a task may be performed at a nearbylocation, for example an icon viewable on the screen of a LAD. In someembodiments, a displayable list of tasks may be provided through aprogrammatic interface. In some embodiments, tasks and associatedcompletion locations may be retained on a displayable list of tasks, andpresented to the user when an action is taken, such as a request todisplay nearby tasks or viewing a task list.

If more tasks are available for processing (503), then a task isselected from the task list for processing in this example. It may bedetermined whether the task should be displayed (505). One example ofdetermining whether a task should be displayed is to determine whether acompletion location for the task is within a threshold distance from theuser, for example 100 meters, or one mile, and determine that it shouldbe displayed if so. Another example of determining whether a task shouldbe displayed is to determine whether a completion location for the taskis within a threshold distance from a target location, or within atarget area. One example of determining an appropriate target locationor area is to receive it from a user. Another example of determining anappropriate target location or area is to project a location or area inwhich a user is likely to be, for example a location or area along aroute planned by a navigational system, or a location or area near alocation associated with a calendar item.

If the task should not be displayed (506), then the next task isselected in this example (503). If the task should be displayed (506),then task display is prepared in this example (507). In someembodiments, preparing to display a task may include displaying acompletion location for the task. An example of displaying a completionlocation is to display it on a map. In some embodiments, preparing todisplay a task may include displaying task information. An example ofdisplaying task information is to display a task and optional associatedlocation, for example when a user views a task list. In someembodiments, tasks and/or task completion locations may be displayed astext or audio (for example a characteristic tone, or synthesizedspeech). In some embodiments, preparing to display a task and/orcompletion location includes adding information about a task and/orcompletion location to a list of items that may later be displayed. Insome embodiments, preparing to display a task and/or completion locationincludes providing an indication that a task may be performed at anearby location, for example an icon viewable on the screen of a LAD.The next task may be processed (503).

An example application of the method illustrated in FIG. 5 is to displaynearby locations at which tasks on a user's task list may be displayed,for example when the user looks at the screen of an LAD, or when a userlooks at his or her task list. For example, a user could be in aSafeway. When he or she requests to view a task list (for example, byselecting its icon), a task containing the grocery list couldautomatically be presented.

FIG. 6 is an illustrative diagram of a user interface for displayingcompletion locations for a task according to some embodiments. Anexample of a situation in which this user interface could be displayedis when a task list display has been requested or triggered, for exampleas discussed in conjunction with FIG. 5. In this example, a LAD isdisplaying a map 601 showing a task description 611, the location of amobile communications device 610 and the location of completionlocations for the task 607, 608, 609, which may for example have beenascertained as discussed in conjunction with FIG. 4. In this example,the task description 611 is “Get gasoline ASAP” and completion locations607, 608, 609 are nearby gas stations at which gas may be purchased. Thetask to purchase gasoline may, for example, have been automaticallygenerated as discussed in conjunction with 301 of FIG. 3. In thisexample, additional information associated with completion locations607, 608, 609 may be displayed by selecting a button 604, and displayoptions for completion locations 607, 608, 609 may be altered byselecting a button 605. In this example, the map 601 may be zoomed in orout using buttons 602, 603.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a method for automatically deriving taskcompletion locations according to some embodiments. In this example, atask is completed (701). One example of a task being completed is for auser to mark it as completed, for example by “crossing it out” in asoftware program that provides task management functionality. Currentand/or recent location details are obtained (702). An example ofobtaining location details is to retrieve them from a log of recentlocations, and/or a current location reading. If no location details areavailable (703), for example if a LAD relies on other LADs for locationinformation and none has been available, or GPS reception has beenunavailable, then a completion location for the task is not derived inthis example (704). In some embodiments, a completion location for thetask may be manually specified, for example by a user clicking on alocation on a map or entering an address.

If location details are available (703), then location details arerecorded in this example (7065). An example of recording locationdetails is to store recent location history (for example, locationinformation for the past hour) associated with information about thetask just completed. A task resolver may be trained with the exampledata (706). In some embodiments, a task resolver may learn associationsbetween tasks and completion locations based on location information.One example of the operation of a task resolver is for the task resolverto associate a task entry with the current location at the time it wasmarked as completed, for example using the current location as thecompletion location for the task. Another example of the operation of atask resolver is to examine historical information associated with theresolution of similar tasks and determine points of commonality, forexample similar locations, and select a point of commonality (forexample, a location in the historical location information associatedwith task completions such that similar locations are associated withmore task completions than any other location). Ways of determining“similar” tasks are discussed in conjunction with 402 of FIG. 4. Anotherexample of the operation of a task resolver is to select a knownlocation near the location at which the task was marked as completed,such as a location that a user has habitually visited or a location inthe user's address book, as a completion location. Another example ofthe operation of a task resolver is to determine a category of location(for example, a hardware store or a grocery store) contained inhistorical location information associated with multiple resolutions ofsimilar tasks, and associate that category of location with the task(s)as a completion location.

An example of an application of the method shown in FIG. 7 is when auser electronically indicates that a to-do list entry titled “Bringlunch to grandma” has been completed, for example by deleting it fromhis or her to-do list. In this example the system might subsequentlyassociate identically or similarly named tasks with the location atwhich the user completed that task, for example because the userindicated that the task was completed at grandma's house, or becausemultiple similar entries had been marked as completed when the user hadvisited grandma's house in the past hour, or because grandma's house wasin the user's address book and was nearby when the user marked the taskas completed.

In some embodiments, automatically derived completion locations maysubsequently be used to determine and/or display appropriate completionlocation candidates for tasks, for example as described in conjunctionwith FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a method for assigning a task to a taskrecipient according to some embodiments. In this example, a task becomesassignable (801). One example of a task becoming assignable is when atask is created, for example by entering a new task into a program thatmanages tasks. Another example of a task becoming assignable is for anassignee of the task to decline to perform the task. Another example ofa task becoming assignable is for the location of an assignee or anotherpotential task recipient to change so that a reassignment of a task to anew actor is appropriate, for example because the actor is closer to alocation at which the task can be performed. A list of eligible actorsmay be retrieved (802). An actor refers herein to any potentialrecipient of a task equipped with a LAD, for example a LAD that has beenregistered as being part of a task-receiving population. An example ofretrieving a list of eligible actors is to retrieve a list of actorsfrom a database or other configuration file such as a registry or flatfile. In some embodiments, multiple populations of actors may bemaintained, and one or more populations may contain actors eligible fora particular task. In some embodiments, a task may be associated withone or more particular population of actors, for example because thetask creator specified the association.

If no actors are eligible to perform the task (803), then the task isnot assigned to an actor in this example (804). If one or more actorsare eligible, current and/or planned future location(s) of eligibleactors may be checked (805). An example of a planned future location isa location along a path set by a navigational system such as anautomotive navigational system. Another example of a planned futurelocation is a location on a preplanned service route for a vehicle, suchas a FedEx or postal delivery truck. Another example of a planned futurelocation is a calendar item with an associated location. Another exampleof a planned future location is a task with an associated completionlocation. If no actor locations are available (806), then the task isnot assigned to an actor in this example (807). In some embodiments,task may be manually assigned to an actor, for example by a userselecting an actor from a list of eligible actors. If one or more actorlocations are available (806), then one or more appropriate actors areselected in this example (808). An appropriate actor may be selectedbased on a variety of criteria, such as distance from task andavailability based on schedule, using optimization algorithm(s) known tothose skilled in the art. An example of selecting an appropriate actoris to select an actor whose present location is closest to a completionlocation for the task. Another example of selecting an appropriate actoris to select an actor whose planned future locations include a locationnearest to a completion location for the task. Another example ofselecting an appropriate actor is to select an actor who already has atask with a completion location that is also a completion location forthe task requiring assignment. Another example of selecting anappropriate actor is to select an actor whose schedule, for example asdetermined by examining electronic calendar data, contains sufficientfree time to perform the task, as determined, for example, by currentand/or planned future locations and a completion location for the task.In some embodiments, exactly one actor may be selected as appropriate.In some embodiments, more than one actor may be selected as appropriate.

The task may be assigned to one or more actors (809). An example ofassigning the task is to distribute task information, such as a taskdescription and zero or more completion locations, to an actor, forexample through a network such as the internet, or a wireless network,for example GPRS or 802.11. In some embodiments, a task may be assignedto exactly one actor. In some embodiments, a task may be assigned tomore than one actor. In an example of assigning a task to more than oneactor, a task notification may be transmitted to multiple actors, andthe first actor to confirm that he or she will perform the task isassigned the task. In another example of assigning a task to more thanone actor, a task notification may be transmitted to multiple actors,and may be rescinded when one actor marks the task as completed. Inanother example of assigning a task to more than one actor, a task mayrequire multiple actors and multiple actors may perform the task, or mayperform elements of the task.

An example of an application of the method illustrated in FIG. 8 ismanaging pickups for delivery trucks. In this example, delivery trucksinclude LADs that transmit their locations back to a central server.When a pickup order is entered, the locations of trucks may be takeninto consideration as well as their planned routes and workloads indeciding which truck should be sent to pick up the new order.

Another example of an application of the method illustrated in FIG. 8 isadding an item to a grocery list. In this example, a father in a familyadds a task to “buy infant formula” into his PDA. The locations of otherfamily members' LADs are polled and used to assign a person to the newtask. For example, the mother might be driving close to a store on herway back from work, or the son might be in a grocery store buying soda,and could receive notification to buy infant formula also. In thisexample, an assignment may be made to both actors, and the son, eventhough already in the grocery store, may not notice the task assignment.The mother may notice and confirm the task assignment, and receive thetask to pick up infant formula at a planned future location near herpath from work to home.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a method for receiving and presentinglocation-based guidance for task fulfillment according to someembodiments. In this example, one or more tasks are to be performed atthe current location of a LAD (901). An example of a task to beperformed is a task with a completion location at the current locationof the LAD. Support may be requested for local micro-directions and/or amicro-map (902). Micro-directions refer herein to directions within alocation, for example directions within a business such as a store. Amicro-map refers herein to a map of a particular location, for example abusiness such as a store. A request for support may be any inquiry todetermine whether micro-directions and/or a micro-map are available. Insome embodiments, a request may be transmitted via a network such as awireless network, for example 802.11 or Bluetooth. In some embodiments,a request may be implicit. An example of an implicit request is not tosend a request, but instead to passively receive transmitted informationindicating what services are available. If micro-directions or amicro-map are not available (903), then location-based guidance for taskfulfillment is not presented in this example (904). If micro-directionsand/or a micro-map are available (903), then micro-directions and/or amicro-map are requested in this example to fulfill one or more localtasks (905). An example of requesting micro-directions and/or amicro-map is to transmit information about task(s) that are to beperformed locally. An example of information about a task that is to beperformed locally is to transmit a grocery list within a grocery store.In some embodiments, information about task(s) that are to be performedlocally may be encrypted, for example using the public half of apublic/private key pair, the public half of which may be transmitted bythe local location, for example in response to a request for support oflocal micro-directions or a micro-map.

A micro-map and/or micro-directions may be received (906). An example ofa micro-map is a detailed map of a particular location, for example amap of the inside of a grocery store with annotations indicating typesof goods being sold in various areas. Another example of a micro-map isa map of the inside of a grocery store with the locations of items on ashopping list marked. An example of micro-directions is a list of thelocations of items on a shopping list within a grocery store, forexample a list organized in a good order for shopping, such as asequential walk through the grocery store aisles containing items on theshopping list such that no aisle is traversed more than once. Themicro-map and/or micro-directions may be displayed to the user (907),for example on the screen of a LAD. Another example of display ofmicro-directions is the use of distributed displays, such as lighting onshelves or at micro-intersections, which may provide information inresponse to a LAD's request for finer details in a given area. Forexample, a task such as “brown sugar” may have directed a shopper to aspecific aisle, and either an explicit user input button such as “Istill can't find it,” or an implicit action such as the LAD transmittinga location in a suggested aisle, may cause a light to flash next to the“brown sugar” products.

Although the foregoing embodiments have been described in some detailfor purposes of clarity of understanding, the invention is not limitedto the details provided. There are many alternative ways of implementingthe invention. The disclosed embodiments are illustrative and notrestrictive.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for associating tasks with a location,comprising: providing a task; providing a completion location; whereinthe task may be completed at the completion location; associating thecompletion location with the task; and storing the task with theassociated completion location.